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Quick answer
Michelangelo's David is in Florence, in the Galleria dell'Accademia. Florence's official tourism site says the statue was moved there from Piazza della Signoria, where a copy now stands; one passage of that page dates the move to 1873 and another to 1872. Venice's Gallerie dell'Accademia, plural, is a different museum: its own site describes it as the most important collection of Venetian and Veneto painting in the world, shown in 37 rooms from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century, with Giorgione's The Tempest among its works.
The short answer
Michelangelo's David is in Florence. Feel Florence, the city's official tourism site, says the statue was moved from Piazza della Signoria to the Galleria dell'Accademia and replaced in the square by a copy. The same page gives the year of the move as 1873 in one passage and 1872 in another, so XTOUR reports both.[1]
Venice has a museum with almost the same name, the Gallerie dell'Accademia, and it does not hold David. Its own site describes it as the most important collection of Venetian and Veneto painting in the world, presented in 37 rooms from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century.[2] They are separate museums in separate cities.
Florence: the Galleria dell'Accademia
In its passage on the gallery, Feel Florence says the first nucleus of the collection was formed in 1784 with works donated by Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo, and that David arrived from Piazza della Signoria in 1873. The David in front of Palazzo Vecchio today is, on the same page, a copy.[1]
The name is singular: Galleria. XTOUR records it as a gallery in Florence, separate from the Uffizi, Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens, which are the three sites of the Gallerie degli Uffizi; the Uffizi, Pitti and Boboli guide covers those.
Venice: the Gallerie dell'Accademia
The Venice museum's name is plural: Gallerie. Its collections page names Giorgione's The Tempest, Titian's Pietà, Carpaccio's Legend of Saint Ursula and Veronese's Feast in the House of Levi among its masterpieces. The museum occupies the former Santa Maria della Carità complex, its church, monastery and scuola, according to both its own pages and Italy's tourism portal.[4][2]
The museum's own pages describe its time span in two ways. The collections page sets the 37-room path from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century, while the home page presents a route "from the 14th to the 19th century" whose last section runs to 1880.[3][2]
The collections page also links to a section on works not on display, whether in restoration, on loan or off display for other reasons.[2] That section is the place to check before a visit planned around one painting.
How to tell them apart
| Feature | Florence | Venice |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Galleria dell'Accademia | Gallerie dell'Accademia |
| Work named in this explainer | Michelangelo's David | Giorgione's The Tempest, among others |
| Collection | First nucleus 1784; David moved in from Piazza della Signoria | Venetian painting, fourteenth to eighteenth century in the 37-room path |
When a ticket, a tour or a search result says only "Accademia", look for the city and for the singular or plural before you buy anything. XTOUR's reading is that the city name is the reliable test; the one-letter difference in the Italian is easy to miss.
What XTOUR does not tell you
XTOUR does not publish opening hours, prices or booking rules for either museum. For Florence it has read the city tourism site's account of the gallery, not the gallery's own website, which did not open for XTOUR. Read each museum's own pages before you go.
Sources & references
- [1]Feel Florence, official tourism site of the Municipality and Metropolitan City of Florence (feelflorence.it), 'The David' itinerary page: the first nucleus of the Galleria dell'Accademia's collection was formed in 1784 with works donated by Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo; in 1873 Michelangelo's David was moved there from Piazza della Signoria and replaced by a copy (another passage on the same page says the original stood in the square until 1872); the David in front of Palazzo Vecchio is a copy, the original in the Accademia. Read 2026-10-09
- [2]Gallerie dell'Accademia di Venezia (gallerieaccademia.it), 'The Collections' page: the most important collection of Venetian and Veneto painting in the world, housed in the former complex of the Church of the Carità, its convent and the scuola; 37 rooms on a path from 14th-century to 18th-century painting, including Giorgione's The Tempest, Titian's Pietà, Carpaccio's The Legend of Saint Ursula and Veronese's The Feast in the House of Levi; a section on works not on display (in restoration, on loan or not exhibited). Read 2026-10-09
- [3]Gallerie dell'Accademia di Venezia (gallerieaccademia.it), English home page: masterpieces include Giorgione's The Tempest and Veronese's Feast in the House of Levi; a chronological route 'from the 14th to the 19th century' whose last section runs 1700 to 1880; address Campo della Carità, Dorsoduro 1050. Read 2026-10-09
- [4]italia.it (Italy's national tourism portal; the page is marked as automatically translated), 'Gallerie dell'Accademia': in the Dorsoduro district, in the Church of Santa Maria della Carità, its monastery and the Scuola Grande di Santa Maria della Carità; 'the largest and most important collection of Venetian art in the world', with painters from the 1300s to the 1700s. Read 2026-10-09
Frequently asked questions
Good to know
Is the statue of David in Piazza della Signoria the original?
No. Feel Florence, the official tourism site of the Municipality and Metropolitan City of Florence, describes the David in front of Palazzo Vecchio in Piazza della Signoria as a copy, with the original in the Galleria dell'Accademia.
Where is the Venice Accademia?
Italy's national tourism portal, italia.it, says the Gallerie dell'Accademia are in the Dorsoduro district and occupy three historic buildings: the Church of Santa Maria della Carità, its monastery and the Scuola Grande di Santa Maria della Carità. The museum's own site gives its address as Campo della Carità, Dorsoduro 1050.